Automatic volume control for combined game and chat audio

ABSTRACT

A system comprising audio processing circuitry is provided. The audio processing circuitry is operable to receive combined-game-and-chat audio signals generated from a mixing together of a chat audio signal and game audio signals. The audio processing circuitry is operable to process the combined-game-and-chat audio signals to detect strength of a chat component of the combined-game-and-chat audio signals and strength of a game component of the combined-game-and-chat audio signals. The audio processing circuitry is operable to automatically control a volume setting based on one or both of: the detected strength of the chat component, and the detected strength of the game component. The combined-game-and-chat audio signals may comprise a left channel signal and a right channel signal. The processing of the combined-game-and-chat audio signals may comprise measuring strength of a vocal-band signal component that is common to the left channel signal and the right channel signal.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/159,133, filed Jan. 20, 2014. U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/159,133 has the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/908,606 filed Nov. 25, 2013, and to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/875,391 filed on Sep. 9,2013. This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/949,754 filed on Jul. 24, 2013. U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/949,754 is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/542,198 filed on Aug. 17, 2009 and issued asU.S. Pat. No. 8,498,426. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/542,198 hasthe benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.61/189,311 filed on Aug. 18, 2008. Each of the above-referencedapplications is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entiretyfor all purposes.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

The entirety of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/949,754 titled“Headphone System for Computer Gaming” and filed on Jul. 24, 2013 ishereby incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects of the present application relate to electronic gaming. Morespecifically, to methods and systems for automatic volume control forcombined game and chat audio.

BACKGROUND

Limitations and disadvantages of conventional approaches to audioprocessing for gaming will become apparent to one of skill in the art,through comparison of such approaches with some aspects of the presentmethod and system set forth in the remainder of this disclosure withreference to the drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Methods and systems are provided for automatic volume control forcombined game and chat audio, substantially as illustrated by and/ordescribed in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forthmore completely in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an example gaming console.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show two example audio subsystems which supportenhancement of the chat component of combined-game-and-chat audiosignals.

FIG. 3A depicts a high-level block diagram of example circuitry forenhancing the chat component of combined-game-and-chat audio signals.

FIG. 3B depicts example circuitry for enhancing the chat component ofcombined-game-and-chat audio signals.

FIGS. 4A and 4B depict two views of an example embodiment of a headsetoperable to enhance the chat component of combined-game-and-chat audiosignals.

FIG. 4C depicts a block diagram of the example headset of FIGS. 4A and4B.

FIG. 5A depicts two views of an example embodiment of an audiobasestation operable to enhance the chat component ofcombined-game-and-chat audio signals.

FIG. 5B depicts a block diagram of the audio basestation 400.

FIG. 6 depicts a flowchart of an example process for enhancing the chatcomponent of combined-game-and-chat audio signals.

FIG. 7 depicts a flowchart of an example process for enhancing a voicecomponent of combined combined-game-and-chat audio signals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As utilized herein the terms “circuits” and “circuitry” refer tophysical electronic components (i.e. hardware) and any software and/orfirmware (“code”) which may configure the hardware, be executed by thehardware, and or otherwise be associated with the hardware. As usedherein, for example, a particular processor and memory may comprise afirst “circuit” when executing a first one or more lines of code and maycomprise a second “circuit” when executing a second one or more lines ofcode. As utilized herein, “and/or” means any one or more of the items inthe list joined by “and/or”. As an example, “x and/or y” means anyelement of the three-element set {(x), (y), (x, y)}. As another example,“x, y, and/or z” means any element of the seven-element set {(x), (y),(z), (x, y), (x, z), (y, z), (x, y, z)}. As utilized herein, the terms“e.g.,” and “for example” set off lists of one or more non-limitingexamples, instances, or illustrations. As utilized herein, circuitry is“operable” to perform a function whenever the circuitry comprises thenecessary hardware and code (if any is necessary) to perform thefunction, regardless of whether performance of the function is disabled,or not enabled, by some user-configurable setting.

In multiplayer games that are played over a local area network or theinternet via a console such as Microsoft Xbox® or Sony Playstation®,game audio and voice are combined and provided via an audio output(e.g., an analog or digital output audio jack for wired output or aradio for wireless output) to which a user may connect a headset. Oneproblem with this form of game play is that the game audio in theheadset has a wide dynamic range. In other words, at times a low volumecan rapidly increase to a high volume when, for instance, an explosionor other dynamic event occurs in the game. These loudness dynamics maybe sustained for long periods of time, for instance during heated battlein an action game. A consequence of this wide dynamic range is that ifthe volume of the voice communication signals (the “chat” volume) is setfor a comfortable volume level during normal game passages, they cannotbe heard over the loud game audio when dynamic game passages occur.Where separate game and chat audio is provided by a gaming console to aheadset, a solution for ensuring that the chat audio is comprehensibleand not swamped out by the game audio is for the user to manually adjustthe game and chat volumes (e.g., via buttons on his/her headset,controller, and/or in a GUI of the console). This is undesirable sinceit requires the player to momentarily lose control of the game as thehand moves from the game controls to adjust the chat volume level.Furthermore, where chat and game audio are premixed by the console suchthat separate chat and game audio signals are not available, manual,separate adjustment of chat and game volume is no longer an option.Aspects of this disclosure provide for controlling volume of chat and/orgame components of combined-chat-and-game audio signals to maintain theuser's ability to hear the chat audio even when the volume and frequencycontent of the game audio is highly variable.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown game console 176 which may be, forexample, a Windows computing device, a Unix computing device, a Linuxcomputing device, an Apple OSX computing device, an Apple iOS computingdevice, an Android computing device, a Microsoft Xbox, a SonyPlaystation, a Nintendo Wii, or the like. The example game console 176comprises a video interface 124, radio 126, data interface 128, networkinterface 130, video interface 132, audio interface 134, southbridge150, main system on chip (SoC) 148, memory 162, optical drive 172, andstorage device 174. The SoC 148 comprises central processing unit (CPU)154, graphics processing unit (GPU) 156, audio processing unit (APU)158, cache memory 164, and memory management unit (MMU) 166. The variouscomponents of the game console 176 are communicatively coupled throughvarious busses/links 136, 128, 142, 14, 146, 152, 160, 169, and 170.

The southbridge 150 comprises circuitry that supports one or more databus protocols such as High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI),Universal Serial Bus (USB), Serial Advanced Technology Attachment 2(SATA 2), embedded multimedia card interface (e.MMC), PeripheralComponent Interconnect Express (PCIe), or the like. The southbridge 150may receive audio and/or video from an external source via link 112(e.g., HDMI), from the optical drive (e.g., Blu-Ray) 172 via link 168(e.g., SATA 2), and/or from storage 174 (e.g., hard drive, FLASH memory,or the like) via link 170 (e.g., SATA 2 and/or e.MMC). Digital audioand/or video is output to the SoC 148 via link 136 (e.g., CEA-861-Ecompliant video and IEC 61937 compliant audio). The southbridge 150exchanges data with radio 126 via link 138 (e.g., USB), with externaldevices via link 140 (e.g., USB), with the storage 174 via the link 170,and with the SoC 148 via the link 152 (e.g., PCIe).

The radio 126 may comprise circuitry operable to communicate inaccordance with one or more wireless standards such as the IEEE 802.11family of standards, the Bluetooth family of standards, and/or the like.

The network interface 130 may comprise circuitry operable to communicatein accordance with one or more wired standards and to convert betweenwired standards. For example, the network interface 130 may communicatewith the SoC 148 via link 142 using a first standard (e.g., PCIe) andmay communicate with the network 106 using a second standard (e.g.,gigabit Ethernet).

The video interface 132 may comprise circuitry operable to communicatevideo in accordance with one or more wired or wireless videotransmission standards. For example, the video interface 132 may receiveCEA-861-E compliant video data via link 144 and encapsulate/format/etc.,the video data in accordance with an HDMI standard for output to themonitor 108 via an HDMI link 120.

The audio interface 134 may comprise circuitry operable to communicateaudio in accordance with one or more wired or wireless audiotransmission standards. For example, the audio interface 134 may receiveCEA-861-E compliant video data via link 144 and encapsulate/format/etc.the video data in accordance with an HDMI standard for output to themonitor 108 via an HDMI link 120.

The central processing unit (CPU) 154 may comprise circuitry operable toexecute instructions for controlling/coordinating the overall operationof the game console 176. Such instructions may be part of an operatingsystem of the console and/or part of one or more software applicationsrunning on the console.

The graphics processing unit (GPU) 156 may comprise circuitry operableto perform graphics processing functions such as compression,decompression, encoding, decoding, 3D rendering, and/or the like.

The audio processing unit (APU) 158 may comprise circuitry operable toperform audio processing functions such as volume/gain control,compression, decompression, encoding, decoding, surround-soundprocessing, and/or the like to output single channel or multi-channel(e.g., 2 channels for stereo or 5, 7, or more channels for surroundsound) audio signals. The APU 158 comprises a memory element (e.g., ahardware or software register) 159 which stores configuration dataincluding gain/volume settings. The configuration data may be modifiedvia a graphical user interface (GUI) of the console and/or via anapplication programming interface (API) provided by the console 176.

The cache memory 164 comprises high-speed memory (typically DRAM) foruse by the CPU 154, GPU 156, and/or APU 158. The memory 162 may compriseadditional memory for use by the CPU 154, GPU 156, and/or APU 158. Thememory 162, typically DRAM, may operate at a slower speed than the cachememory 164 but may also be less expensive than cache memory as well asoperate at a higher-speed than the memory of the storage device 174. TheMMU 166 controls accesses by the CPU 154, GPU 156, and/or APU 158 to thememory 162, the cache 164, and/or the storage device 174.

In FIG. 1, the example game console 176 is communicatively coupled to auser interface device 102, a user interface device 104, a network 106, amonitor 108, and audio subsystem 110.

Each of the user interface devices 102 and 104 may comprise, forexample, a game controller, a keyboard, a motion sensor/positiontracker, or the like. The user interface device 102 communicates withthe game console 176 wirelessly via link 114 (e.g., Wi-Fi Direct,Bluetooth, and/or the like). The user interface device 102 communicateswith the game console 176 via the wired link 140 (e.g., USB or thelike).

The network 160 comprises a local area network and/or a wide areanetwork. The game console 176 communicates with the network 106 viawired link 118 (e.g., Gigabit Ethernet).

The monitor 108 may be, for example, a LCD, OLED, or PLASMA screen. Thegame console 176 sends video to the monitor 108 via link 120 (e.g.,HDMI).

The audio subsystem 110 may be, for example, a headset, a combination ofheadset and audio basestation, or a set of speakers and accompanyingaudio processing circuitry. The game console 176 sends audio to themonitor 108 via link(s) 120 (e.g., S/PDIF for digital audio or “lineout” for analog audio).

In FIG. 2A, the game console 176 is connected to an audio subsystem 110comprising audio output device(s) 202 which, in turn, comprises audioprocessing circuitry 200 that is operable to perform chat enhancement asdescribed herein. The device(s) 202 may comprise, for example, a headsetwith integrated audio processing circuitry or a set of speakers withintegrated, or associated, audio processing circuitry. An exampleimplementation of the headset of FIG. 2A comprising chat enhancementcircuitry 200 is described with reference to FIGS. 4A-4C.

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, there is shown two views of an exampleheadset 400 that is an example embodiment of the audio output device 202of FIG. 2A. The headset 400 comprises a headband 402, a microphone boom406 with microphone 404, ear cups 408 a and 408 b which surroundspeakers 416 a and 416 b, connector 410, connector 414, and usercontrols 412.

The connector 410 may be, for example, a 3.5 mm headphone socket forreceiving analog audio signals (e.g., receiving chat audio via an Xbox“talkback” cable).

The microphone 404 converts acoustic waves (e.g., the voice of theperson wearing the headset) to electric signals for processing by thecircuitry of the headset.

The speakers 416 a and 416 b convert electrical signals to soundwaves.

The user controls 412 may comprise dedicated and/or programmablebuttons, switches, sliders, wheels, etc. for performing variousfunctions. Example functions which the controls 412 may be configured toperform include: power the headset 400 on/off, mute/unmute themicrophone 404, control gain/volume of, and/or effects applied to, chataudio by the audio processing circuitry of the headset 400, controlgain/volume of, and/or effects applied to, game audio by the audioprocessing circuitry of the headset 400, enable/disable/initiate pairing(e.g., via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi direct, or the like) with another computingdevice, or the like.

The connector 414 may be, for example, a USB port. The connector 414 maybe used for downloading data to the headset 400 from another computingdevice and/or uploading data from the headset 400 to another computingdevice. Such data may include, for example, configuration data thataffects how audio signals in the headset 400 are processed (e.g.,gain/volume settings, whether and which sound effects are added to whichaudio signals, etc.), and functions performed by the user controls 412.Additionally, or alternatively, the connector 414 may be used forcommunicating with another computing device such as a smartphone, tabletcompute, laptop computer, or the like.

FIG. 4C depicts a block diagram of the example headset 400. In additionto the connector 410, user controls 412, connector 414, microphone 404,and speakers 416 a and 416 b already discussed, shown are a radio 420, aCPU 422, a storage device 424, a memory 426, and an audio processingcircuit 430.

The radio 420 may comprise circuitry operable to communicate inaccordance with one or more standardized (such as, for example, the IEEE802.11 family of standards, the Bluetooth family of standards, and/orthe like) and/or proprietary wireless protocol(s) (e.g., a proprietaryprotocol for receiving audio from an audio basestation such as thebasestation described below with reference to FIGS. 2B, 5A, and 5B, forexample).

The CPU 422 may comprise circuitry operable to execute instructions forcontrolling/coordinating the overall operation of the headset 400. Suchinstructions may be part of an operating system or state machine of theheadset 400 and/or part of one or more software applications running onthe headset 400. In some implementations, the CPU 422 may be, forexample, a programmable interrupt controller, a state machine, or thelike.

The storage device 424 may comprise, for example, FLASH or othernonvolatile memory for storing configuration data, etc. which may beused by the CPU 422 and/or the audio processing circuitry 430 (e.g.,loaded into volatile memory during runtime). Such data may include, forexample, configuration data that affects how audio signals in theheadset 400 are processed (e.g., affects gain/volume settings, whetherand which sound effects are added to which audio signals, etc.), andfunctions performed by the user controls 412.

The memory 426 may comprise volatile memory used by the CPU 422 and/oraudio processing circuit 430 as program memory, for storing runtimedata, etc.

The audio processing circuit 430 may comprise circuitry operable toperform audio processing functions such as volume/gain control,compression, decompression, encoding, decoding, introduction of audioeffects (e.g., echo, phasing, virtual surround effect, etc.), and/or thelike to output audio signals comprising game, chat, and microphone audioto speaker 416 a and 416 b.

In operation, referring to both FIGS. 2A and 4C, chat audio, representedas arrow 210, and game audio, represented as arrow 214, are input to theAPU 158 of the console 176. The chat audio may arrive, for example, viathe network interface 130. The game audio may arrive, for example, viathe Optical drive 172, the Storage 174, the link 112, and/or the networkinterface 130. The APU 158 may process the chat and game audio asnecessary (e.g., decompress, decode, etc.) to recover a chat audio bandsignal (“chat audio”) carrying voices of other players participating ina networked chat, and game audio band signals (“game audio”) carryingthe music, sound effects, etc. generated by the game. The chat audio maybe a monophonic signal and the game audio may be a multi-channel signal.

The APU 158 may then mix together the chat audio and game audioresulting in combined-game-and-chat audio signals (represented as arrow212). The respective strengths of the chat audio and game audio duringmixing may be controlled based on gain/volume settings in theconfiguration data in memory element 159. For example, a first gain maybe applied to a chat audio signal, a second gain may be applied to aleft game audio signal and a right game audio signal, then the left gameaudio signal and chat audio signal may be mixed to produce a leftcombined-game-and-chat audio signal and the right game audio signal andchat audio signal may be mixed to produce a right combined-game-and-chataudio signal. The combined-game-and-chat audio signals are then conveyedto the audio interface 134 which suitably formats them (resulting insignals 212′) for conveyance to the audio subsystem 110 (e.g., via link122 of FIG. 1).

The combined-game-and-chat audio signals 212′ arrive at the audioprocessing circuitry 430 via either the connector 410 or the radio 420.The audio processing circuitry 430 performs any processing (e.g.,gain/volume control, introduction of sound effects, etc.) dictated bycurrently selected configuration data, resulting in signals 212″, whichare output to the speakers 416 a and 416 b.

Concurrent with outputting the combined-game-and-chat signals to thespeakers 416 a and 416 b, the chat enhancement circuitry 200 processesthe combined-game-and-chat audio signals to detect the strength of thechat component and/or the game component. Example details of suchprocessing are described below with reference to FIGS. 3 and 6. Based onthe detected strength(s), the chat enhancement circuitry 200 may adjust,as necessary, the volume settings in the configuration data stored inthe memory element 159. The adjustment may comprise, for example,generating a volume control command 218 (e.g., sent via link 114and/140) that causes a call of a volume adjustment function of an APIprovided by the game console 176. For example, if chat audio is too weakrelative to the game audio a command to increase the chat audio and/ordecrease the game audio may be generated. Conversely, if chat audio istoo strong relative to the game audio a command to increase the chataudio and/or decrease the game audio may be generated.

In an example implementation, the signals 212′ and 218 may be routed viaa user interface device 104 interposed between the console 176 and thesubsystem 110 (e.g., where the console is an Xbox).

Now referring to FIG. 2B, the game console 176 is connected to an audiosubsystem 110 comprising an audio basestation 204 and audio outputdevice(s) 202. The device(s) 202 may comprise, for example, a headsetsimilar to the headset 400 described above, but without the chatenhancement circuitry 200. The example implementation of the audiobasestation 204 depicted in FIG. 2B comprises the chat enhancementcircuitry 200 and is further described with reference to FIGS. 5A and5B.

FIG. 5A depicts two views of an example embodiment of an audiobasestation 500 that is an example embodiment of the audio basestation204 of FIG. 2B. The basestation 500 comprises status indicators 502,user controls 510, power port 524, and audio connectors 514, 516, 518,and 520.

The audio connectors 514 and 516 may comprise digital audio in anddigital audio out (e.g., S/PDIF) connectors, respectively. The audioconnectors 518 and 520 may comprise a left “line in” and a right “linein” connector, respectively. The controls 510 may comprise, for example,a power button, a button for enabling/disabling virtual surround sound,a button for adjusting the perceived angles of the speakers when thevirtual surround sound is enabled, and a dial for controlling avolume/gain of the audio received via the “line in” connectors 518 and520. The status indicators 502 may indicate, for example, whether theaudio basestation 204 is powered on, whether audio data is beingreceived by the basestation 204 via connectors 514, and/or what type ofaudio data (e.g., Dolby Digital) is being received by the basestation204.

FIG. 5B depicts a block diagram of the audio basestation 400. Inaddition to the user controls 510, indicators 502, and connectors 514,516, 518, and 520 described above, the block diagram additionally showsa CPU 522, a storage device 534, a memory 526, a radio 520, an audioprocessing circuit 530, and a radio 532.

The radio 520 comprises circuitry operable to communicate in accordancewith one or more standardized (such as the IEEE 802.11 family ofstandards, the Bluetooth family of standards, and/or the like) and/orproprietary (e.g., proprietary protocol for receiving audio protocolsfor receiving audio from a console such as the console 176.) wirelessprotocols.

The radio 532 comprises circuitry operable to communicate in accordancewith one or more standardized (such as, for example, the IEEE 802.11family of standards, the Bluetooth family of standards, and/or the like)and/or proprietary wireless protocol(s) (e.g., a proprietary protocolfor transmitting audio to audio output device(s) 202).

The CPU 522 comprises circuitry operable to execute instructions forcontrolling/coordinating the overall operation of the audio basestation500. Such instructions may be part of an operating system or statemachine of the audio basestation 500 and/or part of one or more softwareapplications running on the audio basestation 500. In someimplementations, the CPU 522 may be, for example, a programmableinterrupt controller, a state machine, or the like.

The storage 534 may comprise, for example, FLASH or other nonvolatilememory for storing configuration data, etc., which may be used by theCPU 522 and/or the audio processing circuitry 530 (e.g., by being loadedinto volatile memory during runtime). Such data may include, forexample, configuration data that affects how audio signals in the audiobasestation 500 are processed (e.g., gain/volume settings, whether andwhich sound effects are added to which audio signals, etc.), andfunctions performed by the user controls 412.

The memory 526 may comprise volatile memory used by the CPU 522 and/oraudio processing circuit 530 as program memory, for storing runtimedata, etc.

The audio processing circuit 530 may comprise circuitry operable toperform audio processing functions such as volume/gain control,compression, decompression, encoding, decoding, introduction of audioeffects (e.g., echo, phasing, virtual surround effect, etc.), and/or thelike to output audio signals comprising game and chat to the radio 532.

In operation, referring to both FIGS. 2B and 5B, the console may operateas described above with reference to FIG. 2A.

The combined-game-and-chat audio signals 212′ arrive at the audioprocessing circuitry 530 via either the connector 514, the connectors518 and 520, or the radio 420. The audio processing circuitry 530performs any processing (e.g., gain/volume control, introduction ofsound effects, etc.) of the combined-game-and-chat audio signalsdictated by currently selected configuration data, resulting in signals212″, which are output to the radio 532. The radio 532 converts thereceived combined-game-and-chat audio signals to a format suitable fortransmission to the audio output device(s) 202. For example, the audiobasestation modulates the audio signals 212″ onto an RF carrier andtransmits the resulting signal 220 wirelessly to the audio outputdevice(s) 202.

In an example embodiment, concurrent with processing thecombined-game-and-chat signals for output via radio 532, the chatenhancement circuitry 200 processes the combined-game-and-chat audiosignals to detect the strength of the chat component and/or the gamecomponent. Example details of such processing are described below withreference to FIGS. 3 and 6. Based on the detected strength(s), the chatenhancement circuitry 200 may adjust, as necessary, the volume settingsin the configuration data stored in the memory element 159. Theadjustment may comprise, for example, generating a volume controlcommand 218 (e.g., sent via link 114 and/140) that causes a call of avolume adjustment function of an API provided by the game console 176.For example, if chat audio is too weak relative to the game audio acommand to increase the chat audio and/or decrease the game audio may begenerated. Conversely, if chat audio is too strong relative to the gameaudio a command to increase the chat audio and/or decrease the gameaudio may be generated. In an example implementation, the signal 218 mayindicate a current chat-audio-to-game-audio ratio, a desiredchat-audio-to-game-audio ratio, and/or a desired increase or decrease inthe chat-audio-to-game-audio ratio.

The audio output device 202 receives the signal 220, demodulates it torecover the combined-game-and-chat audio signals 212″, performs anyadditional desired audio processing, and outputs to speakers such as thespeakers 416 a and 416 b.

Now referring to FIG. 3A depicts a high-level block diagram of examplechat enhancement circuitry. In the example implementation of FIG. 3A,the circuitry 200 comprises speakers 320 a and 320 b, an envelopedetector 322, a game/chat distinguisher 324, and a volume controller326. The envelope detector 322 may determine the envelope of signal212′. The game/chat distinguisher 323 may separate the envelope into agame audio envelope 325 a and a chat audio envelope 325 b. The volumecontroller 326 may calculate the chat-audio-to-game-audio ratio andgenerate the signal 218 based on the signals 325 a and 325 b.

Now referring to FIG. 3B there is shown example circuitry for enhancingthe chat component of a combined-game-and-chat audio stream. The examplechat enhancement circuitry 200 comprises filters 302 a, 302 b, 304 a,and 304 b; common signal detection circuits 306 a and 306 b; controller310; multi-band equalizers 312 a and 312 b; and combiner 316.

Each of the filters 302 a, 302 b, 304 a, and 304 b is operable to pass,from its input to its output, a selected range of frequencies (the“passband”) with relatively little attenuation while other frequenciesexperience relatively high attenuation between the input and output ofthe filter. In an example implementation, the passband of filters 302 aand 302 b may substantially coincide with the frequency range of thehuman voice from approximately 300 Hz to 3000 Hz (the “vocal band”). Inan example implementation, the passband(s) of filters 304 a and 304 bmay substantially not overlap with the vocal band (i.e., may have anotch corresponding to the vocal band).

Each of the common signal detection circuits 306 a and 306 b is operableto detect the strength of a signal component that is common to its twoinputs and output that strength via a respective one of signals 307 aand 307 b. In an example implementation, the signal strengths may beoutput as a root mean square (RMS) values. In an example implementation,prior to measuring the signal component that is common to its twoinputs, the circuit 306 a may look for characteristics that indicate thepresence of speech. These may be characteristics of speech in generaland/or characteristics of speech that has passed over the band-limitedchat audio channel. Example characteristics that the circuit 306 a mayinspect for include the presence of harmonics, formants, and/or pitchmodulation. If the circuit 206 a determines that speech is not presentbased on these characteristics, it may output a default strength (e.g.,0) on the signal 307 a rather than an actual measured strength.

The combiner 316 may be operable to add the left combined-game-and-chataudio signal 212′ (or 212″ if the equalizers 213 are present and havemodified the signal) to the right combined-game-and-chat audio signal212′ (or 212″ if the equalizers 213 are present and have modified thesignal) and output the strength (e.g., as an RMS value) of the combinedsignal via signal 317. Additionally or alternatively, the combiner 316may be operable to subtract the left[or right] combined-game-and-chataudio signal 212′ (or 212″ if the equalizers 213 are present and havemodified the signal) from the right[or left] combined-game-and-chataudio signal 212′ (or 212″ if the equalizers 213 are present and havemodified the signal) and output the strength (e.g., as an RMS value) ofthe difference signal via signal 317.

Each of the multi-band equalizers 312 a and 312 b may be operable toapply at least a first gain to a first set of frequencies (e.g., vocalband frequencies) of the respective one of the combined-game-and-audiosignals 212′ and a second gain to a second set of frequencies (e.g.,non-vocal-band frequencies). The volume/gain settings for the equalizers312 a and 312 b may be determined by configuration data stored in theirrespective memory elements (e.g., hardware or software register) 313which may be modified by the controller 310 via a respective one ofsignals 309 a and 309 b. The output of EQ 312 a may be applied to a leftspeaker (not shown). The output of EQ 312 b may be applied to a rightspeaker (not shown).

The controller 310 may be operable to modify the volume/gain settings inthe configuration data in memory element 313 of the multi-bandequalizers 312 a, the volume/gain settings in the configuration data inmemory element 313 of the multi-band equalizer 312 b, and/or thevolume/gain settings in the configuration data in memory element 159 ofthe APU 158. Modifications to the gain/volume settings may be based onthe signal strength values received via signals 307 a, 307 b, and 317.The controller 310 may adjust the gain/volume settings automaticallywithout need for user intervention. The adjustments may be based onother configuration which may, for example, also be stored in memoryelement 311, and which may be pre-configured to factory defaults and/orconfigurable via a graphical user interface and/or API provide by theaudio subsystem 110 in which the circuitry 200 is installed. Examples ofsuch other configuration data include maximum gain/volume, minimumgain/volume, target gain/volume, maximum game-audio-to-chat-audio ratio,minimum game-audio-to-chat-audio ratio, target game-audio-to-chat-audio,and/or the like.

FIG. 6 depicts a flowchart of an example process for enhancing the chatcomponent of combined-game-and-chat audio signals. In block 602, a chataudio signal (e.g., 210 of FIG. 2A) is mixed with left and right gameaudio signals (e.g., 214 of FIG. 2A) resulting in combined-game-and-chataudio signals (e.g., 212′ of FIG. 2A).

In block 604, the left and right combined-game-and-chat audio signalsare received in audio processing circuitry having chat enhancementcapability (e.g., 430 of FIG. 4C or 530 of FIG. 5B).

In block 606, the audio processing circuitry determines strength(“Strength 1”) of vocal-band component that is common to the left andright combined-game-and-chat audio signals.

In block 608, the audio processing circuitry determines strength(“Strength 2”) of non-vocal-band component that is common to the leftand right combined-game-and-chat audio signals.

In block 610, the audio processing circuitry determines strength(“Strength 3”) of a chat component of the combined-game-and-chat audiosignals based on Strength 1 and Strength 2 according to the followingexpression: Strength 3=Strength 1−Strength 2. This calculation makes theassumption that the common non-vocal component is broadband and thusalso present in the common vocal component.

In block 612, the audio processing circuitry determines strength(“Strength 4”) of game audio to be the difference between the leftcombined-game-and-chat audio signal and the right combined-game-and-chataudio signal, since the chat is common to both left and right andcancels out as a result of the subtraction.

In block 614, the audio processing circuitry determines the ratio ofStrength 3 (“chat”) to Strength 5 (“game”).

In block 616, a command to modify chat and/or game volume is generatedif necessary based on said determined ratio.

FIG. 7 depicts a flowchart of an example process for enhancing a voicecomponent of combined-game-and-chat audio signals.

In block 702, a chat audio signal (e.g., 210 of FIG. 2A) is mixed withleft and right game audio signals (e.g., 214 of FIG. 2A) resulting incombined-game-and-chat audio signals (e.g., 212′ of FIG. 2A).

In block 704, the left and right combined-game-and-chat audio signalsare received in audio processing circuitry having chat enhancementcapability (e.g., 430 of FIG. 4C or 530 of FIG. 5B).

In block 706, the audio processing circuitry (e.g., 430 of FIG. 4C or530 of FIG. 5B) calculates one or more of the following parameters basedon the combined-game-and-chat audio signals: total energy, differenceenergy, center channel vocal-band energy, non-vocal-band energy,autocorrelation, cepstrum.

The total energy may, for example, be calculated as the sum of energy inthe left and right channels and smoothed with a first order recursivefilter.

The difference energy may, for example, be calculated as the averageddifference between the left and right channels. The difference energymay represent the content of the game audio that is not correlatedbetween left and right channels. When the difference energy is a highpercentage of the total energy, it may be determined that speech ispresent in the combined-game-and-chat audio signals.

The center channel voice band energy may, for example, be calculated bypassing the left and right channels through a voice band filter and thencorrelating the filter outputs with zero lag to determine the voice bandenergy in the center surround channel. The ratio of the center channelvoice band energy to the total energy may be used to determine whetherspeech is present in the combined-game-and-chat audio signals.

The non-vocal-band energy may, for example, be calculated by summing theleft and right channels and passing the sum through a vocal-bandband-stop filter. The filter may remove chat signals such that theenergy of the filtered signal is primarily from game audio.

The autocorrelation of the each of the received left and rightcombined-game-and-chat audio signals may have peaks at the pitch period.If the pitch of a signal falls within the vocal band, the audioprocessing circuitry may determine speech is present in the signal.

The cepstrum of the input may be calculated for the left and rightchannels. For speech, as it is rich in harmonics, the cepstrum will havea peak at the pitch period. The richer the harmonics, the stronger isthe peak. The strength of the peak indicates the strength of harmonicswith respect to the background game sound. The presence of pitch periodin voice band and its modulation may result in the audio processingcircuitry determining that speech is present in the signals.

In block 708, the audio processing circuitry generates a gain controlsignal (e.g., 218).

In block 710, the gain control signal 218 is smoothed (e.g., bycontrolling attack and release times to give the audio source sufficienttime to respond) to prevent “pops” in the audio. In block 710, a limitmay also be applied such that the chat is prevented from being increasedor decreased beyond determined threshold levels (e.g., user-defined).

In addition to its application to gaming with online chat. Aspects ofthis disclosure are also applicable to enhancing one component of anysignal that is the result of mixing together two signals havingdifferent bandwidths. In this regard, while the filters 302 and 304 ofFIG. 3B were configured to pass vocal-band and non-vocal-bandfrequencies, respectively, in the example embodiment described, thisdisclosure is not so limited. The filters 302 can be configured to passany first set of frequencies and the filters 304 can be configured topass any second set of frequencies different than the first set offrequencies. As another example, a user may be listening to music on hisphone while simultaneously participating in a voice call. The call audioand the music audio may be mixed together for transmission to the user'sheadset. The headset may comprise the chat enhancement circuitry 200 forenhancing the call audio to ensure it remains audible and intelligibleover the music. Where each of the mixed together audio signals have avocal component (e.g., participating in a voice call whilesimultaneously listening to a soundtrack of a movie), aspects of thisdisclosure may still enable enhancing the call audio to ride above theactor's voices due to the fact that the soundtrack will typically havehigher bandwidth allowing for the presence of harmonics of the actor'svoices, which enables distinguishing those voices from the much moreband limited voice call.

In an example implementation of this disclosure, a system may comprisean input circuit (e.g., connector 514 or radio 420 or radio 520), one ormore filter circuits (e.g., 302 a, 302 b, 304 a, and 304 b) one or morecommon signal detection circuits (e.g., 304 a and 304 b), and acontroller (e.g., 310). The input circuit may be operable to receivecombined-game-and-chat audio signals generated from a mixing together ofa chat audio signal and game audio signals. The one or more filtercircuits may be operable to filter a first of the combined-game-and-chataudio signals to generate a first vocal-band signal and a firstnon-vocal-band signal. The one or more filter circuits may be operableto filter a second of the combined-game-and-chat audio signals resultingin a second vocal-band signal and a second-non-vocal band signal. Theone or more common signal detection circuits may be operable to detectstrength of a signal component that is common to the first vocal-bandsignal and the second vocal-band signal. The one or more common signaldetection circuits may be operable to detect a strength of a signalcomponent that is common to the first non-vocal-band signal and thesecond non-vocal-band signal. The controller may be operable toautomatically control a volume setting based on one or both of: thedetected strength of the chat component, and the detected strength ofthe game component.

The present method and/or system may be realized in hardware, software,or a combination of hardware and software. The present methods and/orsystems may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least onecomputing system, or in a distributed fashion where different elementsare spread across several interconnected computing systems. Any kind ofcomputing system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methodsdescribed herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware andsoftware may be a general-purpose computing system with a program orother code that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computingsystem such that it carries out the methods described herein. Anothertypical implementation may comprise an application specific integratedcircuit or chip. Some implementations may comprise a non-transitorymachine-readable (e.g., computer readable) medium (e.g., FLASH drive,optical disk, magnetic storage disk, or the like) having stored thereonone or more lines of code executable by a machine, thereby causing themachine to perform processes as described herein.

While the present method and/or system has been described with referenceto certain implementations, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art that various changes may be made and equivalents may besubstituted without departing from the scope of the present methodand/or system. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt aparticular situation or material to the teachings of the presentdisclosure without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intendedthat the present method and/or system not be limited to the particularimplementations disclosed, but that the present method and/or systemwill include all implementations falling within the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising in a headset comprising agame/chat distinguisher and a volume control circuit: receivingcombined-game-and-chat audio signals generated from a mixing together ofa chat audio signal and game audio signals; processing, using saidgame/chat distinguisher, said combined-game-and-chat audio signals todetect strength of a chat component of said combined-game-and-chat audiosignals and strength of a game component of said combined-game-and-chataudio signals; and automatically controlling, using said volume circuit,a volume setting based on one or both of: said detected strength of saidchat component, and said detected strength of said game component. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein: said combined-game-and-chat audiosignals comprise a left channel signal and a right channel signal; andsaid processing of said combined-game-and-chat audio signals comprises ameasurement of strength of a vocal-band signal component that is commonto said left channel signal and said right channel signal.
 3. A systemcomprising: audio processing circuitry comprising a game/chatdistinguisher, an envelope detector, and a volume control circuit, saidaudio processing circuity being operable to: receive, at said game/chatdistinguisher, combined-game-and-chat audio signals generated from amixing together of a chat audio signal and game audio signals; process,via said envelope detector and said game/chat distinguisher, saidcombined-game-and-chat audio signals to detect strength of a chatcomponent of said combined-game-and-chat audio signals and strength of agame component of said combined-game-and-chat audio signals; andautomatically control, via said volume control circuit, a volume settingbased on one or both of: said detected strength of said chat component,and said detected strength of said game component.
 4. The system ofclaim 3, wherein: said combined-game-and-chat audio signals comprise aleft channel signal and a right channel signal; and said processing ofsaid combined-game-and-chat audio signals comprises a measurement, bysaid game/chat distinguisher, of strength of a vocal-band signalcomponent that is common to said left channel signal and said rightchannel signal.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein said processing ofsaid combined-game-and-chat audio signals comprises a measurement, bysaid game/chat distinguisher, of strength of a non-vocal-band signalcomponent that is common to said left channel signal and said rightchannel signal.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein said processing ofsaid combined-game-and-chat audio signals comprises: a combining, by acombiner circuit of said audio processing circuitry, of said leftchannel audio signal and said right channel audio signal resulting in acombined audio signal; and measuring, by said game/chat distinguisher,strength of said combined audio signal over vocal and non-vocal bands.7. The system of claim 3, wherein said audio processing circuitry isoperable to: apply, by a gain circuit of said volume control circuit, afirst gain to vocal-band frequencies of said combined-game-and-chataudio signals; and apply, by said gain circuit, a second gain to anon-vocal-band frequencies of said combined-game-and-chat audio signals.8. The system of claim 7, wherein said volume control circuit of saidaudio processing circuitry is operable to: generate one or more controlsignals that control said first gain and said second gain, wherein astate of said one or more control signals is automatically controlled inresponse to one or both of: said detected strength of said chatcomponent, and said detected strength of said game component.
 9. Thesystem of claim 3, wherein said volume control circuit of said audioprocessing circuitry is operable to automatically control said volumesetting based on a ratio of said detected strength of said chatcomponent to said detected strength of said game component.
 10. Thesystem of claim 3, wherein said audio processing circuitry is in aheadset.
 11. The system of claim 3, wherein said audio processingcircuitry is in a game console.